


The tail returns

by Raindrenchedstories



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Humor, Trunks is a little shit, but he means well, no betas we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:41:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26092777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raindrenchedstories/pseuds/Raindrenchedstories
Summary: The boy meant well. He did. But when you've learned to live without a limb for so long, having it restored takes some re-adjusting.
Relationships: Bulma Briefs/Vegeta, Chi-Chi/Son Goku (Dragon Ball), Father son dynamics
Comments: 9
Kudos: 80





	1. A gift for Papa.

It had happened a week ago. Trunks had been exploring his mother's chem lab when his father caught him. In his shock, the boy had knocked over some unknown chemical. Vegeta was on the spot, dragging his child to the shower and spraying him down thoroughly. Even going so far as to join him so as to scrub the parts he couldn't reach. He'd said something about it smelling dangerous, and there was just no arguing with a dad who's sense of smell can tell exactly how many days a jar of pickles had been in the fridge.

Shortly after, both of them had been changing when he noticed it. A discolored spot on his father's tailbone. Rough and porous. "Hey dad?"

"Hm." Vegeta pulled his clothing on roughly. Clearly annoyed for many reasons. "Yes. You are grounded. You know damn well the lab is dangerous. And look where it got you. You'll have to apologize to your mother as well."

"Okay. But... How did you get that scar?" He was pretty sure his father would say that. It was better than training for a full day straight. Vegeta glanced at his son, raising a brow. The boy pointed out the dark spot and he raised his arm to look at it. A sigh escaped him before he shoved the rest of his clothing on.

"It was a long time ago. I lost my tail in battle." He explained. Tossing a hoodie to his child. It had been years since he even thought of the missing limb. Since then he'd learned to balance without it, trained his body language to exclude it. And the phantom feeling had faded. Well, it had faded into a knowledge that it wasn't really there. The pain had gone. That was a positive. He wasn't expecting to see his son beaming at him with wide, bright eyes.

"YOU HAD A TAIL?!" That had launched a whole discussion about how the limb was a recessive trait, how both he and Goku had lost their tails respectively. And finally. "Do you ever miss it?"

"Sometimes. But it's gone. There's no point mourning something that can't come back."

"Why didn't it come back?" Trunks tilted his head. "You said Goku's tail was removed by Kami. And Gohan's was cauterized by a ki blast. But yours should have come back right? It was just cut."

Vegeta huffed, crossing his arms in on himself. "Mine... Was lost in a regen tank. The wound closed as opposed to the tail growing back. No more questions. You have a conversation with your mother to face." He guided the boy out of the room.

Trunks wasn't an idiot. He was the son of Bulma Briefs and Vegeta. Technology and strategy was just genetically ingrained in him. As well as reading your opponent. His father wasn't happy. He wasn't comfortable talking about the loss of his tail. He wasn't comfortable with the loss of his tail. And he walked a little funny after talking about it. As if trying to dispel the memory if it.

He ended up grounded alright. No games, no visits with Goten, and he'd have to be within earshot of either parent for a week. But that week was almost over. Mom and Dad were asleep in bed. (He made extra sure to read his father's ki. Because he was caught on more than one occasion staying up late. But no. His parents were out cold. He could tell due to the fact that his father WASN'T forcing his ki down. It burned like a smoldering ember. Irregular with sleep. trunks grinned, snatching his prize from his mother's lab. The dragon radar. He and Goten covertly agreed through their little made up language. Morse code. But with ki. It was brilliant. Easy to hide from their father's so long as they were training.

They had a wish to make.

* * *

Vegeta had pleasant dreams. Being surrounded in his mate's scent did that. During the times they fell asleep, they'd hold one another close. By morning, they were back to back. Over the night, he'd felt something soothing and warm tingle up his spine, and curled happily around himself. Just a few more minutes. He was close to waking, but he just wanted a few more minutes in this peaceful situation. He could hear Bulma shift behind him, and smiled softly. It wasn't always a bad thing, feeling her surround him. It almost felt safe.

Pain shot up his spine in sharp waves. Pain and debilitating weakness. His whole body locked up and he could only choke out a sound of warning. Bulma was up in an instant, and in very little time, he threw her over himself and to the other side of the bed. He shot to his feet towards the unseen aggressor, putting himself between them and his wife. But there was nothing. Sharp gasps rattled through his chest as he reached out to sense whoever assaulted him. "VEGETA!"

"WHERE!?" He snapped, reaching to move Bulma out of the way. Something tickled up his spine. Gently this time, but it was the same sensation. As if his tail had brushed something. But that was impossible.

"Vegeta... Don't freak out." That never boded well. "But your tail grew back."

The resounding "WHAT!?" Echoed through the halls of Capsule Corp. 

There it was. He experimentally moved the limb, and though it was clumsy, it bent to his whims just like before. "This can't be real. After all this time. How?" He dropped to sit on his bed, just moving his tail slowly. Bulma joined him, placing her hands on his shoulder and rubbing soothing circles into his back.

"Well. Maybe it needed some time to kick in? Or some sort of outside factor happened?" She offered. A weak smile on her face. He shook his head, resting it on her shoulder. Just watching his tail exist. It thumped softly on the bed as he regained more control. At first he could only move it in whole, but slowly, he started to train only small parts to move at a time. To regain it's prehensile nature. He curled the tip, feeling the slide of his own fur against it again.

"Is it real?" He finally asked. Trusting no one but Bulma to stare at his backside. She hummed, pulling the hem of his shorts down a bit. Prosthetic were a thought. But from what she could see, it just sat normally. Gently emerging from his rear like it had always been there. Her fingers dipped to feel around the area for any sort of abnormality. A soft gasp sounded and she glanced up.

"Sorry. I need to do this. It's going to feel a bit-"

"It's going to put me to sleep is what it's going to do." He mumbled. This prompted her to run her palm down it's full length, and he nearly dropped right there. It was soothing. Nearly a narcotic to his frayed nerves. Bulma laughed softly.

She brought her hand up along his spine in the opposite direction, almost putting her husband to sleep. "I need to do an X-ray before I know for sure what happened. Are you okay with that?" He mumbled something that sounded like a confirmation, but at this point, Vegeta was out cold. She moved him to lay on the bed, and gently pet the regained appendage. "Later. Let's just not worry about it for now."

The phone rang. A very displeased Bulma clambered over her husband, who was just blinking back to reality. She pressed the button and hissed into it. "What!?"

"Bulma? Something's up with Goku, and Gohan, and is Vegeta okay?" Chi-chi spluttered.

"Well, you just woke him up. But if you're talking about random tails. Then yeah. It happened to him too. Anyone know anything about this?" Vegeta lifted below her to listen in. Inadvertently picking Bulma up on his back. She braced herself and grumbled something about watching it.

"No. You were the last person I could think of." There was some inaudible mumbling beyond the phone. "Goku says he's going to ask King Kai to check it out. We'll get back to you if we find anything."

"Yeah. Worst case scenario, we'll just use the dragon balls to figure this out." Bulma confirmed. Before clambering off her husbands back, falling onto the floor, and then scrambling to dress for the day. "I'm going down to the lab. Gotta find that damn radar before we really do need the dragon. Are you going to be okay here?" She glanced over her shoulder at Vegeta. Who was still just wiggling his tail with facination.

"I'll be fine. I was born with this remember? It's just a returned limb." He scoffed, moving to finally get up, and answer something other than the regained limb. Bulma started pulling her outfit for the day and dropping it on the bed. The bathroom door closed, and then there was a heavy thump. Vegeta's voice gasping behind it. "B-BULMA!"

She shot to his aid, finding the fuzzy brown tip of his tail caught in the door. She opened it, and tried not to laugh. Vegeta curled into a miserable ball on the floor. He was less impressed now, than he had ever been. His expression was damn close to a cat on bath day. In total denial that this was really happening But in grumpy acceptance that yes. This was really happening. He huffed. "Just fucking laugh." The flood gates were open by his permission and his wife doubled over, sitting against the wall holding her sides together. He couldn't even blame her. If this happened to anyone but him, he'd be cackling with her.

They eventually found the radar. Vegeta's tail was firmly tucked up around his middle. He ignored the occasional giggle his woman gave and poorly attempted to hide. She found it, before clicking the damn thing to life. It displayed... Nothing. Bulma hummed. Clicking it a few more times to broaden the range. "Weird. Nothing's showing up."

Just then her phone rang, and Vegeta answered. After checking it was someone worth talking to. "What is it Kakarot?"

"Gohan actually. We think we figured it out." He sounded equally enthusiastic. In the background Chi-chi could be heard raising hell. Something about sneaking. Irresponsible. Stealing. Apology. Gohan huffed. "You miiight want to have a chat with Trunks."

Vegeta hung up. "We only have one child." He stated flatly.

There was a long discussion about asking permission before wishing something about another persons body. And and extension to a grounding. Paired with a Saiyan proof anklet attached to an alarm system. Normally, Bulma would consider this child abuse. But normally children didn't have access to wish granting dragons, or the ability to fly anywhere in the world. Or to blow up mountains. She dreaded her daughter's teen years. She dreaded them greatly. But at least it wasn't any form of Malice. Vegeta had decided to keep his tail. Goku and Gohan needed more time to make up their minds.

Entering the living room, Bulma found her husband sitting almost perfectly still. His tail made little circles beside him, as he was lost in thought. Occasionally she'd catch him glancing at the limb. She moved to sit near him. "So. I guess I get to learn all the fun bits about Saiyan tails yeah? Maybe this is a blessing in disguise." She offered. She didn't expect the limb to just drop in her lap.

"Maybe. The boy meant well at least." It dragged slowly over her thighs, in a familiar motion. Goku's tail used to move like that. When he was just falling asleep, or was particularly comfortable, or on a surface he found pleasant.

"I didn't ask before... But is it okay if I- Would it bother you if I um... pet... It?" She finished lamely. Vegeta glanced at her in surprise. A look of disbelief on his face.

He held his tail closer to her. "It's fine. Encouraged. Even. I bare your scar." He choked out. Bulma smiled, running her hand gently over the length left in her lap. Vegeta slumped into the cushions. 'I bare your scar'... It was a significant phrase from him. In Saiyan mating rituals, should a mate be permanently taken, they'd mark each other with a bite. A scar. The process hurt of course. It hurt more that it took her so long to even follow the practice. She left her poor husband feeling unwanted until he explained it. The hand not petting his tail reached out to cover the mark over his shoulder, and predictably, he leaned his head onto her hand.

"Love you too Veggie boy." She smirked.


	2. Adjusting to the norm

The first day with his tail back, Bulma was pretty sure Vegeta was spending the whole day rediscovering how to use it. The way he'd zone out just moving it in complex patterns. That night even, he'd woken her several times. Just brushing it's soft fur against her thigh, or worse, her foot. Her reaction startled both of them awake several times. And then there was the baby to boot. She was pretty sure sleep was impossible that night. Yet, somehow, the morning was filled with the smell of pancakes, and something silky stroking her cheek.

She moved a hand to brush it away, it left, then returned. Bulma grumbled, using the time honored defense of stuffing Vegeta's empty pillow over her head. "What ever you have Trunks, show mommy later." A deep chuckle stopped her tirade. The soft thing curled around her wrist, and it finally clicked. Saiyan wake up call. She pulled the pillow from her eyes and glared halfheartedly at her husband.

"The Girl's been fed. You mother has her." He informed. Business first as always. He stood and left the room for his daily training. Leaving Bulma to just lay there grumbling about it being too early. But that didn't explain... She lifted the pillow fully from herself and glanced towards her bedside table. An assortment of Pancakes and fresh strawberries sat beside her bed. Something she learned was Vegeta's way of being nice. He'd set up little plates of food for her when he thought she was overworked, or something was going to upset her during the day.

Something that long persisted after 'courting' her. It was probably the perfect way to start, or end the day. She sat up to judge what exactly, was on the plate, get a sense of what the day was going to be like. Both she and Vegeta had gone behind one another's backs to program the chef bots to make each of their favorites for different occasions. Just order and poof. Everything was a little extra sweet, but simplistic. No chocolate dipped strawberries. But icing sugar on the pancakes with strawberry syrup. An apology. Not a warning.

Leave it to a Saiyan to come up with coded language in food. She smiled, and took the food away from the bed to eat. Starting her day off right. Until- "BULMA!" Somehow she was sure that was going to be her greeting for the next week. At least it was Goku this time.

"WHAT?!" She screamed back, storming out of her bedroom. She found her husband doubled over laughing, and Goku on the floor, her infant daughter gumming his tail in a firm grip.

"Get her off me Bulma! Pan already did this to me this morning and Vegeta won't stop laughing!" She was pretty close herself. From the wheezing inhales her husband gave, this was going on for a short while now. With a sigh, Bulma gently disentangled her daughter from Goku.

"Whew. Thanks. She's got a good grip." Goku popped onto his feet like nothing had happened, yet Bulma could catch the way his knees trembled with the aftershocks. "Anyways. I just wanted to come over and ask Vegeta something. You and Nappa trained your tails not to feel pain, right?"

After a few minutes of collecting himself, and taking his daughter in his arms, Vegeta shook his head. "Figure it out yourself Kakarot." He snickered. "Perhaps your infant grand daughter will be of assistance."

With that, he walked away, daughter in tow. Tail arching near his shoulder blades. Bulma hummed. Taking note of the odd position. Last she'd heard, Vegeta always had his tail around his middle until near the end of the fight. Looking over at Goku, his was hanging down by his ankles, looking a little flat. And slobbered on. She ignored that part and proceeded to make her way around the living room. Tidying the mess her infant and friend made. "So how are you holding up, with the old tail back? Asside from becoming a walking chew toy?"

Goku looked miserable. "I've shut it in the door three times. The toilet lid came down on it... Chi's been a sweet heart saving me every time but...After livin' so long without it, I've completely forgot how to live WITH it. Gohan's strugglin' a bit too. Pan had both of us by the tail this morning. Gohan's been keeping it up like Vegeta does, but I just can't seam to get it."

"He doesn't have full control of it. Did you keep waking Chi-Chi up with your tail too?" She sighed. Goku shook his head, then a small smile broke on his face.

"Nah. I did wrap it around her though. She was just so warm, I guess my tail made up it's mind. Wait. Vegeta kept waking you up?" He grinned, hopeful now. Maybe he had something up on the other Saiyan.

Bulma just sighed. "Well. He was probably half asleep anyhow. Little B's been pretty fussy for the last few nights. The only one that looks even remotely well rested is HER."

To this, Goku burst into laughter. "Well yeah! She takes after her mom."

"WHAT!?" Bulma turned to him, full fury. That little shit did NOT just say what she thought he did.

"Well I mean. Both you and Vegeta are just so hot headed. But Vegeta's a little calmer than you- OW!" A resounding slap echoed through the room. Bulma was FUMING now. Her eyes locked on Goku's dumb face. If looks could kill, the earthling Saiyan would have gotten his free sundae from King Yemma by now. In a screaming tirade, She threw damn near everything within reach at her childhood friend.

In the kitchen, Trunks just ducked further into his third bowl of cereal. Bulla fussed irritably from her father's lap while he paused warming her bottle with his ki. Eyeing the doorway with confusion. Eventually his wife rounded the corner snarling. She looked like a shaved Oozaru in her rage, with an equal temper. Wisely, he chose to say nothing, motioning for his son to do the same. He'd have the bots bring her something nice for lunch.

By noon, Bulma had had a better few hours, and a nap. She found her husband sitting in the living room with his eye on his son. The lad was working through some study book or another. She was fairly sure that was one of the books Chi-chi gave them for his birthday. And not part of his curricular. They held onto them out of manners, but only during groundings did they come out. She and Vegeta disagreed on this idea. Vegeta was convinced that because Trunks didn't like schoolwork, they were a perfect punishment. Bulma thought using school as punishment only made schooling less effective. Well. If he weren't HER kid it would.

What she didn't fail to notice however, was how Bulla kept trying to grab for her father's tail. Bulma winced, waiting for disaster. But each time the baby got close, his tail would flip over her head, to the other side. She tried to grab at it again. It moved. Eventually the baby caught it. Instead of holding it tightly though, she giggled. Vegeta's tail wiggled gently under her palms, squirming like a stuck animal, before she released him and the game started all over again.

Bulma couldn't help the soft laugh. At that point Vegeta waved for his boy to stop. "Go get a snack or something. And some water, Soda is not water!" He shouted after the retreating child. Then turned to Bulma.

"Thanks for taking them. Funny. Bulla doesn't seam to grab you too hard." Vegeta scoffed, using the prehensile limb to wrap around his daughter and pass the child to her mother. 

"No. She doesn't. She respects me." He smirked.

Bulma just quirked a brow. "Uh-huh. Respect. That's why she spit up on you yesterday."

"That was the bodily function of a half human infant. Saiyans aren't even-"

"Capable of vomiting, I know. I'm jealous." Bulma finished for him. She stared curiously at her baby, happily reaching for her father's tail again. "Still, we should get her out of this grabby phase before it becomes a bad habit."

Vegeta just laughed. "She'll grow out of it. All Saiyan infants try to grab tails. Back in the days of old, before we were civilized, Saiyans had children hold their tails. Much like humans hold their children's hands. Only it leaves both hands available to defend your offspring." He shrugged. "In other words. She's holding it for comfort."

Bulma gave this some thought, holding her daughter's head closer to her chest. Tiny fists clutched her lab coat tightly. Not unlike how she was holding Vegeta. "Then why did she squeeze Goku's tail?"

"His scent isn't a constant presence. So she's reacting as though he's an outsider. A friendly outsider, but an outsider non the less." Bulma hadn't noticed initially, but from his sitting position, Vegeta was showing a few signs he was comfortable. His hands were behind him, supporting his frame. Legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles. What caught her off guard was the way his tail sat up by his shoulders again, swaying in curious little arcs from one side to the other. Almost like he was making question marks with it.

There were many occasions Bulma would call her husband 'cute'. This was one of them, as he seamed oblivious to the movement of his own limb. She gave a soft laugh, catching his attention. "What woman?"

"Nothing important. Just... I didn't realize how expressive you really are." He gave her a flat look and she burst into further laughter. That, of course, made the baby laugh. Which was quite confusing for Trunks as he entered the room with his father's share of the snack. Handing it over to the man, the boy sat down dumbfounded.

"What's up with them?" He questioned.

"Your mother has gone insane and your sister finds that hilarious. Now. Back to chemistry."


End file.
